Part 29 (1/2)

At the same time back up in the c.o.c.kpit, Wizard drove the speeding plane-terribly-but right now any driver was better than none.

”d.a.m.n it,” Jack swore. ”I can't get hold of Sky Monster, so I can't open the ramp.”

He stared up at theHalicarna.s.sus from his speeding bus, trying to figure out another way to board it, when suddenly Astro leaned forward and said, ”May I make a suggestion?”

As he spoke, he pulled an unusual weapon from a holster on his back and offered it to Jack.

Seconds later, Jack and Astro found themselves again standing on the roof of their speeding coach, only this time they were looking up at the gigantic tail fin of theHalicarna.s.sus looming directly above them.

Astro held his unusual weapon in his hands.

It was a weapon peculiar to the elite of the United States Marine Corps, the Force Reconnaissance Marines: an Armalite MH12A Maghook.

Looking like a twin gripped Tommy gun, a Maghook was a pressurelaunched magnetic grappling hook that came equipped with a 150foot length of highdensity cable. It could be used either as a conventional grappling hook-with its clawlike anchorhook-or as a magnetic one, with its highpowered magnetic head that could attach to sheer metallic surfaces. The ”A” variant was new, smaller than the original Maghook, about the size of a large pistol.

”I've heard of these, but never seen one,” Jack said.

”Don't leave home without it,” Astro said, firing the Maghook up at the tail fin of the Halicarna.s.sus. With a puncturelikewhump, its magnetized hook soared into the air, trailing its cable behind it.

The hook slammed into theHali 's high tail fin and held, suctioned to the great steel fin with its magnet, holding firm.

”Now hold tight,” Astro said as he handed Jack the Maghook and pressed a b.u.t.ton on it marked RETRACT.

Instantly, Jack was whisked up off the roof of the speeding bus, reeled upward by the Maghook's powerful spooler.

He came level with the tail fin of theHalicarna.s.sus and swung himself onto one of its flat side fins. Then, safely on the plane, he grabbed the Maghook again and prepared to throw it back down to Astro, so that he could come up after- But Astro never got a chance to follow Jack: at that moment, his bus was. .h.i.t from the side by one of the Egyptian coaches, a great thumping blow that knocked Astro off his feet and almost off the roof entirely.

Driving the bus, Stretch swung to look right...and found himself staring into the angry eyes of the driver of the other coach.

The driver raised a Glock pistol at Stretch- -just as Stretch drew a Predator RPG launcher in response, holding it like a pistol, and fired.

The RPG blasted through his automatic door, smas.h.i.+ng through the gla.s.s, and drilled into the rival bus. An instant later, the Egyptian bus traveling alongside his coach lit up with blazing white light before bursting like a firecracker into a million pieces.

Inside the Halicarna.s.sus, Sky Monster was standing guard at the open port side wingdoor, the wind whipping around him, with his shotgun levelled and ready to fire at anything that dared poke its head through the doorway.

Abruptly, two troops on the port wing slid across his view, and he fired but missed, they were too fast, and for a moment he wondered what they had been trying to do-their movement hadn't achieved anything, when suddenly it dawned on him that ithad done something: it had captured his attention.

Almost immediately, thestarboard side wingdoor behind him was blown inward and stormed by Egyptian SF troopers.

More raging wind rushed into the cabin.

One, then two, then three troopers charged in, AK47s up and ready to shred the totally exposed figure of Sky Monster- Blam!blam!blam!

Multiple gun blasts filled the cabin.

Sky Monster was ready to collapse under a hailstorm of bullets, but it was the three intruders who fell, their bodies exploding in fountains of blood.

As they dropped to the floor, Sky Monster spun and saw who had shot them: Jack, standing on theport wing, his Desert Eagle smoking. He must have fired over Sky Monster's shoulder from behind.

Sky Monster sighed with relief, only to see Jack's expression turn to one of horror.

”Monster! Look out!”

Sky Monster spun, bewildered, to see one of the three fallen Egyptians, hit but not dead, whip up a pistol with a bloodied hand and aim it at him from pointblank range. The Egyptian pulled the trigger-just as from out of nowhere a speeding blur of brown whooshed past him and in the blink of an eye the Egyptian was gunless.

It was Horus.

Jack's little falcon-who'd remained on board theHali during the mission at Abu Simbel-had s.n.a.t.c.hed the gun from the attacker's b.l.o.o.d.y fingers!

Jack stepped past Sky Monster and kicked the shocked Egyptian out the starboard doorway and suddenly there was silence in the cabin, a brief moment of respite.

Horus landed on Jack's shoulder, presenting him with the Egyptian's pistol. ”Good work, bird,” Jack said, striding back to Sky Monster and replacing the hairy pilot's earpiece in his ear. ”Ifyou're down here, who's driving?”

”Wizard.”

”Wizard can hardly ride a bicycle,” Jack said. ”Get back up top, I need you to open the rear ramp-we have to get the others on board. I'll cover the entrances down here.”

”Jack, wait! I have to tell you something! We're gonna run out of road soon! With only three engines we need a longer runway to take off and this stretch of road coming up is the last chance we've got.”

”How soon till we hit it?”

”Couple of minutes, at the most. Jack, what do I do if...if not everyone gets on board in time?”

Jack said seriously, ”If it comes to that, you get Lily, Wizard, and that Pillar out of here.

That's the priority.” He clapped Sky Monster on the shoulder. ”But hopefully you won't have to make that call.”

”Roger that,” Sky Monster said, bolting back up the stairs toward the upper deck.

AFTER THEIR first failed attempt, the Egyptians now doubled their efforts to storm the 747: two more buses swung under theHalicarna.s.sus 's smoking right wing, traveling in single file, one in front of the other, disgorging armed men who ran across the roofs of both buses before leaping up onto the wing.

Where they were met by Jack.

Bent on one knee, halfhidden in the wing door and blasted by speeding wind, Jack fired away at the onslaught of invading troops.

But just as he took down one man, another would appear in his place.

He couldn't keep this up for long, and with a quick glance over his shoulder, he saw a bend in the highway up ahead. Beyond it was- -the long straight strip of highway.

Their last chance of escape.

Better do something fast, Jack...

Bullets slammed into the doorway above him and he saw the next wave of Egyptian a.s.sailants-and to his horror saw that these guys carried lightweight armored s.h.i.+elds, like the ones riot police use, complete with little peepholes in them.

s.h.i.+t.

Blam!He fired-and the first attacker to appear on the wing dropped, hit in the eye, shotthrough the peephole.

This is getting totally out of hand,he thought.